Dromeda
by Cabin3Demigod
Summary: Sidenote: I know the British don't have Thanksgiving, so kayate! :  Just my imagination. It's Thanksgiving in the wizarding world and the Lupin family is hosting it...and Remus has a little surprise for their guests  i.e his mother in law


Remus stood over a pot of boiling corn, holding a can of peas. He dumped the peas into the pot-corn and peas had become a Lupin family tradition.

Lupin family. The name felt weird on his tongue, which was why he usually only wrote it down on forms and such, when it was necessary.

Four years ago, he'd been all alone, dealing with Sirius' death and his forbidden love. Remus had left Tonks and their son four years ago. He hadn't wanted Teddy then, but now, since the boy was four, Remus had gotten over his thoughts. Teddy was a fine metamorphmagus, without any werewolf blood in him. Remus' blood was the blood that slid in Teddy's veins.

Remus' blood also slid in Romulus' veins. Romulus, the boy he'd discovered only five years ago. From one of Remus' previous girlfriends, he'd been birthed a werewolf. The boy didn't seem to care, though, as long as Remus was there. It made Remus proud: how strong Romulus was at his age. Remus had still been self-conscious at twelve years old, but Romulus had been trying to make a life of his own: not as a lonely werewolf, but a wizard. Romulus' intentions reminded Remus of Tonks, in a way. They could have been brother and sister. Romulus would never allow his father to think of himself as anything less than a human, and it made Remus want to cry. Romulus was now seventeen. He wasn't a small boy anymore, but his feelings toward his father hadn't changed. Romulus was noble, and Remus was sure that throughout his life, the boy would be loved.

Then there was Ana Lupin. She was the youngest addition to the family, being only two years of age. Though her actions reminded Remus of Tonks, Ana's mind reminded Remus of his own. Ana was smart, in fact the wisest two year old he'd ever known. He hadn't met a lot of those, anyways, but Ana was still bright. She knew how to brew love potions and beat people with wands without the use of actual magic. Naturally, Tonks had taught her that.

Remus was having a laughing fit over Ana's methods of self protection when the quad stepped in, carrying groceries. Romulus was holding Ana and four groceries bags; Teddy was clumsily grasping a light bag filled with what appeared to be chips; Tonks was behind them, smiling and holding three other bags.

"Having fun, Remus?" Tonks asked, chuckling. Romulus winked at him and put all the bags on the counter before setting Ana on the marbled floor.

"Yes," Remus said, wiping tears from his eyes. He'd laughed so hard he'd began to weep. Remus stood and dusted his cardigan off, grabbing a box of cupcake batter.

Five years ago, he wouldn't have been able to afford so much groceries. But with the new minister of magic and the new werewolf rights, he was allowed a job at all places public. Private companies could decide for themselves. He was currently working as Tonks' Auror partner at the ministry. He couldn't replace Mad-Eye, as Tonks had reminded him times before, but they had a lot of fun working together. All one had to do was ask the story of how Ana came to be.

"Helping me,Ana?" Remus smiled. Ana nodded and crawled over to him.

"Look, Dad, she's hooked on you," Romulus remarked.

"Just like me," Tonks winked.

Remus grinned and lifted Ana into the air, shaking her softly. He then hoisted Teddy onto his hip. "You too?" Remus asked.

Teddy nodded. He loved Thanksgiving more than any other holiday, for what reason Remus didn't know why.

Three Hours Later

Remus and the other four Lupins stood in front of the Manor door, adjusting their clothing. Romulus was fixing his and Teddy's ties. They were wearing matching striped suits; Teddy's striped were yellow and green, Romulus' were purple and yellow. Ana was wearing a scarlet dress with dark ruffles on the end. Tonks sported a green and pink dress with brown spots, a bit toned down for her taste. Perhaps Ana's birth had taken away her childlessness. Nah. Sometimes Remus had to learn to lose faith in hopeless desires-not that he didn't like Tonks' child side. He very much enjoyed it. Sometimes, though, he believed other people (like members of the ministry) desired for her to 'grow up'. Obviously, they hadn't known her for long. Tonks was just trying to make a good impression tonight. She'd had a row with her mother when Ana was born, and they hadn't spoke since.

Remus had on a simple brown cardigan, kackey pants, and beige shoes. He didn't need to impress anyone. He had a wife and three children-surely that had shocked everyone enough to the point that they'd look at him in amazement regardless what he was wearing.

The doorbell chimed and Romulus, Teddy, Dora, and Ana stood straight on impulse. Remus chuckled lightly. He opened the door and saw Molly and Arthur, smiling. He gave them both hugs and invited them in. The others did the same. Behind them came Angelina and George, Bill and Fleur, Charlie and his [girl] friend, Hermione and Ron, Ginny and Harry, Percy and his wife, Andromeda and Ted, and Ben Lestrange; he had been Rodolphus' son from another woman, and he wasn't so bad. He'd actually acted really civil toward the Weasleys, Lupins, Blacks, and Potters, even though Remus had killed his father and Molly had murdered his step-mother. Ben said that he didn't even want to be like them. He wanted to be the opposite of dark; he was smart for a mere eighteen year old.

Everyone sat down in the living room and Remus walked over to Molly. "Molly," he whispered, "you have an hour. I knew you'd want to bake the turkey, at least. It's in the kitchen." Molly hurried off, smirking.

Remus shook his head and sat next to Arthur. Before he could ask him how his day had been, Arthur said, "So, Remus, how have you been?"

Remus ruffled his hair. "Great. How about you?" He desperately tried to change the subject.

Arthur totally ignored his attempt. "How...how's she been? Tonks, I mean. With the baby."

Remus leaned in closer, making his voice barely a whisper. "I haven't told her yet."

"Why not?" Arthur demanded in a hushed voice.

"This is the third Arthur. She might not take another pregnancy as well as she took the other two." Remus sighed.

Arthur winked. "Trying to outdo me and Molly," he joked.

"Nope. Trust me. I want to enjoy Nymphadora as much as I can before she actually wants to have mood swings," Remus retorted. "It's amazing. One time you miss a potion and boom, she's pregnant. But you know Dora, she won't care. If she did, she wouldn't have married you in the first place.

"Believe me, Arthur. If I had missed a potion...there would be much more than a boom." Remus chuckled. Arthur laughed too.

The older man pointed at George, who was chatting with Romulus. Romulus had his tie loosened and his jacket off. He and George were laughing.

"How's he feel?" Arthur asked. "Living with you lot, I mean. He doesn't miss his Uncle?"

"Apparently not," Remus said. He patted Arthur on the back. "George still crying?"

"Crying? Try bawling," Arthur replied. "Sometimes I find him in the joke shop cellar, looking at photographs, items that he and Fred made that never made it because they weren't safe. He's been devastated. George is still bringing home the bacon with the joke shop, but now he does it for a living. Not when Fred was here. Then, they made jokes for fun."

"I'm sorry, Arthur," Remus whispered.

Arthur shook his head. "No need to be. You just learn to fully appreciate something-or someone- when they're gone. That's what I've learned to do." He stood and dusted off his hat. "I'll check on Molly," he insisted.

For the next hour, Remus sat there, ignoring the pranks that George and Romulus were pulling, or the kisses that Ron and Hermione were stealing. He thought of Romulus and how he'd feel if he died. Remus would probably kill himself. It was strange how well Arthur was coping with things. Perhaps his wiseness needed to rub off on Remus.

Remus wouldn't be able to live if Nymphadora had died, let alone Ana and Teddy, their very own creations. He loved them. He loved the four of them. They made his life better. It was Ana's smile, Tonks' clumsiness, Teddy's mischievousness, and Romulus' courage that assured Remus that he had to wake up in the morning. That he couldn't end it all right there. The criticism and teasing got to him sometimes, and having a family got him through those moments. He had someone to live for. Someones.

"Remus, dinners ready." Tonks woke him from his daze.

Remus nodded and kissed her on the cheek. Everyone else was moving into the dining room. "I love you," he said quietly.

Tonks blushed and walked away.

That girlish attitude, one thing shed never rid herself of.

Remus stretched before entering the dining room. It was large and the length was filled with a long, brown table. About two dozen golden chairs stood on both sides in total. Everyone took a seat, leaving few chairs left over.

Molly filled plates with her wand and let Teddy and Romulus cut the turkey. Everyone chatted and laughed and joked with one another. The whole meal was bloody wonderful.

"Enjoying the kids?" Harry asked.

"Kids?" Remus laughed. "I hope you're not including Romulus in that category. He's of age now, you know."

Harry nodded. "I remember the feeling."

"You're only 22 Harry!"

"And?" Harry winked. "I think he has a crush on Fleur."

"Haven't we all," Remus grinned.

"Remus!" Someone shouted.

He looked across the table, only to see his mother in law, Andromeda. "Thank you," she grit her teeth. They engaged in a fairly nice conversation-except for when Andromeda chose to humiliate werewolves and call Romulus a cub-until Remus got so fed up that he chose to share the news, right there, in front of everyone.

Andromeda had asked him what was new in their life with her drawling voice and he answered,"We're having a baby!" He shouted it once more so that everyone could hear. Harry frowned. Ginny clapped. Arthur grinned knowingly.

They all stared at him in awe and shock. "A what?" They all shouted.

"No, not a what, a baby," Remus answered simply." He took a swig of pumpkin juice and looked at Molly. "Fancy passing me a glass of water Molly? 'Dromeda here is about to pass out. Excited are we?" he mocked innocently. He grinned to himself.

This was going to be a fun pregnancy. 


End file.
